This is our fourth post in a series looking at how Christian book stores can be both a blessing and a trap.  We started our virtual field trip in the “Jesus junk“, moved into fiction, and now find ourselves in the children’s section.

I am so thankful for the amazing selection of quality materials available to Christian parents as we seek to train our kids.  There are books, CDs, DVDs, a plethora of kids’ devotionals and Bible story books, homeschool materials galore, and even Christian toys.  The question is… how do we discern what is good and what is not?

Because so many children’s materials seek to retell Bible stories, we need to be especially cautious about how Biblical truth is being portrayed.  As I shared in my review of the Children’s Illustrated Bible (which prompted this series!), a real danger in paraphrased Bible stories or abbreviated children’s Bibles is that any biases held by the authors and editors are included in the text as they retell the stories.  Watch for author’s biases which interpret stories in ways that may not be accurate.

Side note: this Christmas I suggested that my mom buy AG her first real NIV Bible.  She has been memorizing out of the NIV, and I knew she would love to have her own where we can highlight the verses she has been learning.  My mom went to their local Christian store, and the salesperson was trying her best to talk my mom out of buying a real Bible for her granddaughter!  She was offered paraphrases, children’s story bibles, and other options – but was assured that an almost 4 year old was not ready for the real deal.

Parents, teach your kids from the real Bible.  Teach them to memorize from it.  Read aloud from it.  Find out what stories they’re learning at church and read them from your Bible together when you get home.  They are not too young – they need to interact with the actual inspired Word of God if we ever expect them to be discerning about other teachings they will come across.

Another common issue with children’s materials is a very one-sided view of God.  There tends to be an abundance of “God is loving,” “you are special” type messages… and the reality of man’s sin and God’s righteous judgment is often missing.  Granted, these issues are difficult to explain in a age-appropriate manner.  But we need to be careful to guard against giving our kids only one side of the issue.  Noah’s ark wasn’t about the cute animals on a pleasure cruise – God was destroying every living thing on the earth because of the depth of man’s sin!  As Donald Miller points out in this post about the dangers of sentimentalizing Scripture, this type of simplified view of God and His ways often leads to later misunderstanding about why a God who is only loving and thinks that we are the most special thing in the world allows suffering into our lives.  We set children up for crises of faith when they do not understand how BIG and holy and sovereign our God truly is.  The universe doesn’t revolve around us.  The Bible isn’t all about us.  The Bible is all about God – we must be careful to teach our kids that way!

Similar to our discussion in the “Jesus junk” post, there are unfortunately many items in this section that make the Scriptures and the cost of following Christ trite and meaningless.  For instance, last weekend as I walked around the children’s section at our Christian bookstore I came across this Samson dress up costume, complete with bulging muscles.  If you’re not sure why I will never purchase this item for LB, you might need to read this post.  Just because the man is in the Bible doesn’t mean that I want my son to pretend to be him.

Or, if that doesn’t fit what you’re looking for, there is also this talking Jesus doll I came across in a catalog.  I WISH that I was kidding.  I wish I had made this up.  But, no.  This item is being sold in a popular Christian supply catalog, and it just might be in your local Christian store.

Friends, what twisted, reduced, irreverent attitudes are we building into our children?  The holy Son of God, Elohim wrapped in flesh, has no business being portrayed as a talking children’s doll.  The words “graven image” come to mind.

As a general rule, I don’t take my kids into the children’s section.  There is much in that area that is there only because it will sell. Much is irreverent.  Much is inaccurate.  Much is sold with packaging more than Biblical content.  Please, please be careful about toys and novelty items.  Please be careful about books seeking to represent God’s ways and Word to your children.  Please keep in mind that inaccurate “Christian” stuff might do more damage than avoiding them all together.

Clearly, there is a lot of good stuff out there- I have reviewed many Christian kids’ books that I loved and highly recommend.  If you have read some high quality Christian kids’ books, head over to the fan page discussion and let us know which titles you have liked!  After yesterday’s discussion, I have a whole bunch of new authors of Christian fiction to check out, so I’m looking forward to hearing some good titles and resources for children’s materials!

I am an amazon affiliate and would receive a small percentage of any sales resulting from the amazon links in this post.

Last week we started looking at the fact that Christian bookstores can be both a blessing and a trap.  On Tuesday we looked at what I affectionately call the “Jesus junk” section.  Today, I’d like to put a bug in your mind about “Christian fiction.”

In my opinion, one of the obvious symptoms of postmodern thinking in the church is a perception that if a book is fiction, it doesn’t matter what it says. This is the argument in support of The Shack which I most commonly hear.  “How can you say this book is heretical? It’s fiction!”  Usually this statement is spoken with a tone that basically implies, “Duh – fiction isn’t true.”

I realize that fictional stories, by definition, are not true. Thank you for filling in that gap in my understanding. [Pardon the sarcasm.] ;)

But hear me here: whether set in a fictional story or a nonfiction book, ideas have consequences.

Every single work produced by humanity comes attached to a world view – the author, the artist, the song writer, the blogger – no matter who is producing the work, an idea is trying to be conveyed.  The same is true with fictional writing.  Everyone who has received even a moderately well-rounded liberal arts education understands that great works of fiction can powerfully influence society – while the stories themselves are fictional, they are conveying a message which can change real people’s perception of the world.  From Farenheit 451 to Pilgrim’s Progress to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, fiction has the capacity to capture our imaginations, move our hearts, and influence or change our thinking.

As we approach a work of fiction, even”Christian fiction,” we must be aware that there is a worldview being expressed in this work.  The author’s framework for what is true, what is right, the purpose of life, the accountability of man, the nature and ways of God – all of these ideas can be woven, sometimes subtly, throughout a work of fiction.

As I discussed in my past reviews of The Shack, within the setting of a fictional story, Young presents clear statements about the natures of both God and humanity that are completely nonbiblical.  The fact that the storyline is fictional does not clear him of all accountability for the false ideas he is clearly presenting.  In my opinion, this fictional packaging can make ideas even more dangerous precisely because our guard is usually down as we read.  Instead of having to thoughtfully engage a nonfiction book which is upfront about trying to change our ideas and perceptions of God’s nature and ways, we pick up a fictional book expecting to be innocuously entertained – we are pulled into the story and emotion overrules logic.  We swallow false teachings much more easily when they’re sugar coated in a story.

My concerns with fiction do not end with The Shack. Like I said, every work of fiction comes attached to a worldview.  This can be a good thing when the author is grounded in truth and committed to communicating truth through fictional characters.  This is one of the reasons why I love to read books by Francine Rivers.  She is a beautiful example of a Christian author who writes fiction that communicates truth in a powerful way through the medium of story.  She is not the only one of course, and neither is Young the only author who weaves heresy into a gripping plot.

No matter what we read, we must watch for the communication of worldview.  How is the author presenting the nature, ways, and Word of God?  Does this line up with God’s clear revelation?  Does the plot blur the line between right and wrong?  Even within innocuous seeming books of Christian romance, is romance itself being deified in a way that leads us to dissatisfaction and could even tempt us toward sinful relationships?

If you’ve read any of my book reviews, you know that I am also a stickler for excellence in addition to doctrinal truth.  I am amazed how many Christian books I read that are full of typographical errors, poorly developed characters, and predictable or overly-simplistic plot lines.

Story, just like every other medium used to communicate, is a powerful tool in our “toolbox” of ways to communicate and teach truth within both Christian and secular circles.  We need to be sure it is communicating TRUTH, and then we need to use it skillfully.  We need Christian authors who are willing to be true masters of their craft – not for the purpose of selling books, but for the purpose of teaching Truth to a society that responds much more to story than to a reasoned argument.

We have a great model to consider – for no one told stories with a purpose like Jesus did!

Look for truth.  Look for excellence.  And keep your mind engaged!

Do you have favorite Christian authors of fiction? If you have found authors who communicate truth with skill, head on over to the fan page discussion and share your thoughts!

I am an Amazon affiliate and would receive a small percentage of any sales resulting from the links in this post.

Yesterday, we started looking at how Christian bookstores can be both a blessing and a trap.

It seems that the first thing you will typically encounter in most Christian bookstores is a section my former youth pastor affectionately referred to as “the Jesus junk.”  You know the junk section.  It offers a wide variety of coffee cups, water bottles, pencils and pens, t-shirts, tote bags, bumper stickers, auto decals, sun catchers, figurines, throws and rugs, mints with Scripture references on the wrappers (not kidding)… who knows what all you might find!

Now, I am not personally opposed to all of these things.  I happen to love this “planted like a tree” mug from Dayspring, especially for NP:

I would love to wear this beautiful “The Lord is my Shepherd” bracelet-

…and I think this “life” tote would be lovely and meaningful to carry to Bible study each week.

This weekend, my review of The Illustrated Children’s Bible prompted a lot more discussion than I was anticipating!  I thought that this week, while I’m working on my behind the scenes blog transition, it might be beneficial to take some time on a “virtual field trip” to a Christian book store.

When I’m talking with new believers, or believers who just aren’t well grounded in their faith, few things make me more nervous than hearing them begin a sentence with the phrase, “I was looking around at the Christian book store…”

When people enter a Christian book store, their guards go down.  Unlike looking through books at a secular store, there is an inherent trust that these books are “good” books, “Biblical” books, books that will teach the truth.  Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

I went to our local Christian bookstore this weekend.  I love it there.  The lighting is soothing, soft praise music plays in the background, the store is attractive and inviting.  I am drawn to the seemingly endless selection of Bibles, Bible covers, piano music, Scripture-filled home decor, and even flannelgraph.  It feels homey.  I fit there.

And then… I turn to see a huge shelf labeled with “You Should Own These Books!”

What’s on the shelf?  Beth Moore’s So Long, Insecurity sits next to Dave Ramsey‘s The Total Money Makeover.  Not so bad.  But among other things, there also sits The Shack.  (I’ve made my opinions about this book quite clear!)  I’m sure that in a short amount of time Brian McLaren’s A New Kind of Christianity will be sitting there, as well – and if you’re thinking about reading it, I would highly recommend you read Mike Wittmer’s thorough reviews (which begin here) of this heretical explanation of a “new kind of Christianity” – which isn’t Christianity at all.

“So, what’s the problem,” you wonder?

Christian bookstores are a business, not a church.  They do not seek to make theological statements.  If it is a “Christian” book and it sells, they will usually sell it.

I would venture to say that we should walk into a Christian book store with as much, if not more, awareness that what all of these items are screaming out at us may not be true.

This week we’ll take one section of the “bookstore” at a time, and I’d like to share some concerns I have with you and what I look for in books and other “Christian” products.  Granted, this will be a very opinion-filled series.  You might not agree with me, and that’s ok.  I just want us to think about what we’re buying, reading, supporting.

There is only one Book that is truly TRUE in everything it says.  There is only one BOOK that can be trusted completely for an accurate depiction of our God.  EVERYTHING else must be judged in light of God’s only authorized biography.

The links above are amazon affiliate links.  I would receive a small percentage of any sales resulting from these links.  But please, don’t buy The Shack. ;)  Image from wikipedia.